Don't those fighting to keep out Walmart know that this is a depressed area? businesses are leaving as we sleep. with the coming of walmart, maybe the people that cannot afford the luxury of feeding their family or buying gas for their cars, or paying their mortgages or rents, will have hope.Seems to me, those that wish to sue walmart to keep them out of this area can afford to complain. They have jobs & can pay their bills & feed their families...many others cannot.

I live out of state, but I grew up in Kerhonkson.On my last visit I couldn't believe how run down and depressed the area and the people seemed. I would love to move my family back were I grew up, but can not because of the economic status and the resistance to any growth to the area. A Walmart would bring many jobs to the area, as well as a closer option for shopping for items other than food. I am sure Shop Rite would still keep it's loyal customers despite their fear. They just want to keep a sort of monopoly - giving the local residents no choice. If this keeps up, everyone will have no choice but to move out of the area to in order to support their families. The local townhips must demand a change,the people must get involved in the local government, and bring a new outlook to the old way of thinking, which seems to be - KEEP OUT- How sad!!!!!!

Of course we know it's a depressed area? So? Walmart doesn't reduce local depression, but increases it! Studies show that counties with WMs have INCREASED poverty as opposed to similar counties that don't. Other studies show that WMs coming in LOWER average wages and set a lower bar for wages. But most relevant, the Neumark study, looking at over 3000 WMs in over 3000 counties over 30 years, showed that for each 200 jobs WM "brings" it actually DESTROYS 300 existing retail jobs in the county! That's a NET LOSS of jobs! How is that good for the local economy?Further by siphoning $1-1.5 MILLION of local cash EACH WEEK out of the local economy, it sucks the cash flow away from ALL local businesses, not just those that compete directly with WM. And since WM doesn't spend money with local attorneys, accountants, insurance agents, banks, restaurants, newspaper ads, printers, etc., it cuts into THEIR income.Where WM comes in, local businesses shut down in three, six, or 12 months, or limp along, bleeding employees along the way. This also reduces property values, and means the rest of us have to make up for the taxes the closed businesses no longer pay.Once WM BECOMES the local monopoly (they HATE competition!), they REDUCE choice, and raise their prices to what they can get away with.

BTW, many of the jobs "brought" to WM literally are. They will cannibalize the surrounding five WMs of workers (who then start at lower pay scale), and bring in managers from even further away, thus reducing the number of locals it employs who weren't already WM "associates." And the turnover rate averages 50% per year, but can be as high as 200%, so it's not really a source of steady, full-time employment. WM doesn't pay living wages; they will hire teens and put their parents out of work! And you can't support a family on what WM pays.

Most are part-timers, hence WM can avoid paying a living wage or benefits, force overtime without paying for it, even lock them in overnight. WM has been repeatedly sued for discrimination of gender (largest class action suit ever), race, age, disability. And notoriously union-busting; they've closed down whole departments (meat) everywhere, or whole stores, rather than let in a union.

"Loyal customers" is a myth; most shoppers shop price and WM is famous for predatory pricing that undercuts ALL competition. Even a 20% or even a 10% cut in sales for a low-margin store can be deadly to them.

WM will NOT drive traffic to downtown Ellenville either, so those stores are particularly vulnerable, nor will it bring in shoppers from "afar," as there's a closer WM in EVERY direction once one is more than 12 miles away from Napanoch.

If anyone has, and wants to create more, monopolies, it's Walmart! BTW, Shoprite has no monopoly; it competes with Peter's and, for some items, RiteAid and the various dollar stores and convenience stores. WM will drain income from ALL of those. WM wants to be the ONLY store standing, hence REALLY giving shoppers NO CHOICE.

And with a WM siphoning about half of ALL local weekly cash flow down to Arkansas, what OTHER businesses would be stupid enough to move IN to the area, knowing that it can't even support the LOCAL businesses with long-time history there? Check out downtown Monticello to see if the WM that came in a few miles away "revived" that depressed Main Street village! HARDLY! Same fate awaits Ellenville IF WM comes to Napanoch.

I could care less if it's a Walmart, Target, Kmart,something has to stimulate the area. I can't believe you would prefer a ghost town. The area is beautiful, but there is absolutely no motivtion to come together - is is either black or white - no middle - it's just very sad.

A STORE that TAKES money out of an area and puts nothing back doesn't "stimulate" an area, particularly if it SIPHONS somewhere between a third to two-thirds of ALL the weekly cash flow OUT of the area to out-of-state billionaires. HOW does taking $1-1.5 million out of the local economy, AND causing a net loss of jobs, THREE lost for each two "created," stimulate anything except to "stimulate" the area into further decline?

Please forego the false dichotomy. Just because I don't see the benefit of a siphoning big box store, doesn't mean I prefer a "ghost town"! Why would you presume that? I can think of much better ways to "stimulate" the local economy that don't involve decimating the downtown and its businesses, indeed, a middle path BETWEEN nothing and surrender to a predatory mega-corps. It is YOU who present a black-or-white-only option, i.e., Walmart or nothing. People can't conceive better alternatives as availale is what's sad.

Those big stores do not stimulate a local economy. It's a fact. It's history, it's been proven. You need only look at the research.

If you think a few minimum wage jobs and a parking lot full of people buying cheap goods made in China will help Ellenville, you're wrong.

To "bmp": the problem is, there SHOULD be a middle - a compromise between the extreme greed of big corporations and the inability of local entrepreneurs to compete.

I'm a weekender, this issue doesn't affect me. BUT, given the choice I would like to put my money back into a family that has roots here, supports here and cares about staying here. WM doesn't know you or give a sht about you, make no mistake.

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